This year’s gala takes place Thursday, May 31, at the elegant Galleria Marchetti, 825 W. Erie Street in Chicago. The gala is co-chaired by Caryn and Allan Zelinger and their son Brad in honor of the Zelinger’s daughter and Brad’s sister, Marissa, who was diagnosed with the disorder at seven years old. Marissa is now 31. Other Chicago-area families that have daughters with Rett Syndrome are on the event committee.

The event features cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, an auction and more. A range of sponsorship levels are available and come with tickets and recognition opportunities:
• Silver: $5,000
• Bronze: $2,500
• Chrome: $1,000
Sponsorships are fully deductible. RSRT is a 501c3 non-profit.

About Rett Syndrome:
• More than 350,000 afflicted around the world, including 16,000 in the U.S.
• Children with Rett develop normally in the first year or two of life; then they regress, with most losing the ability to speak and walk and developing a host of other painful symptoms.
• The cause of Rett Syndrome is known—a random mutation on a single gene—setting it apart from other neurological disorders and giving researchers a target.
• Rett has been proven to be reversible in animal models, and research is now focusing on translating that achievement to girls and women with the disease.

About the Rett Syndrome Research Trust (RSRT):

RSRT’s goal is ambitious and potentially historic: to make Rett Syndrome the first neurological disorder for which there is a cure. To date, RSRT has awarded more than $41 million to research, resulting in key discoveries that are moving the science closer to treatments and a cure. RSRT is a lean and efficient non-profit, with an average of 96% of funding going to research. This research gives 350,000 girls and women, as well as a small group of boys, hope for a life in which they are freed from the terrible and painful symptoms they live with every moment of every day.